The cyclops. A living creature gone extinct or a mythical legend to keep children from wandering away from the village? That's what I wanted to know when I ventured off to the island of Crete in search of the cyclops origin.

In my research I found that a possible origin for the Cyclops legend, advanced by the paleontologist Othenio Abel in 1914, is the prehistoric dwarf elephant skulls – about twice the size of a human skull – that may have been found by the Greeks on Crete and Sicily. Abel suggested that the large, central nasal cavity (for the trunk) in the skull might have been interpreted as a large single eye-socket. Given the inexperience of the locals with living elephants, they were unlikely to recognize the skull for what it actually was. (credit at [link] ]

The truth behind it all is seen in the photo above. While standing only 3" in height, early man would have told tales that exaggerated the real stature of this beast in order to make campfire stories more entertaining. He's just a little Dunny.

Acrylic on 3" vinyl Dunny - SOLD
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